iMessage on IOS5 = 20 million free txt's per month !

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › iMessage on IOS5 = 20 million free txt's per month !

macjones

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#89234 29-Aug-2011 11:01

Well done apple, very nice integration of the new imessage system.

When I heard about imessage I thought, oh no another messaging app to add to trillian, viber, sms, skype and ichat..... but...

The user experience is great....

send an SMS to 02Xxxxxxx using the green message app icon as usual...

the TO field and the SEND button turn blue (from green) after a second or so IF the recipient uses IOS5 (it must check with apple over the interweb what version they're using)

You now type the text as per usual but can also click the camera icon to add a picture (just like MMS / PXT).

The message is routed over 3g/wifi so does not use up txt/pxt allowances.

The 3gb plan (3,221,225,472 bytes) on Vodafone means.....

3,221,225,472 / 160 bytes (to compare with SMS)
= 20,132,659 texts per month !
= sore thumbs for teenagers.

Nice.

(IOS5 beta 6)

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#513351 29-Aug-2011 11:03

Nice work Apple.

When is iOS5 due out?

NonprayingMantis

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#513352 29-Aug-2011 11:05

you will find that each SMS will not be charged as 160 bytes but actually as the minumum session charge, which I beleive is around 10kb for Vodafone. So your calculation is off by about 2 orders of magnitude :P

macjones

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#513353 29-Aug-2011 11:05

Coming this fall according to:

http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/

Fall = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn

freitasm

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#513356 29-Aug-2011 11:09

the TO field and the SEND button turn blue (from green) after a second or so IF the recipient uses IOS5 (it must check with apple over the interweb what version they're using)

Yet another thing that will eat through mobile data on every SMS sent (to check for iMessage use). Those people on a low plan will complain again on "something, I don't know what, keeps using my allowance" or "something is using my casual data rate" and so on.

It works well if everyone has a data plan. But we know there are some people (foolishly) on prepay using those devices...

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macjones

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#513357 29-Aug-2011 11:09

10kb.... ah crap....

3,221,225,472 / 10,240 (voda 10kb packet)
=
314,572 texts per month.

unless you're fast enough to stuff them in the same packet before the packet data counting timeout?

freitasm

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#513358 29-Aug-2011 11:10

macjones:The 3gb plan (3,221,225,472 bytes) on Vodafone means.....

Also, it can't be "20 million free txt's (sic) per month!" if you are paying for the data...

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macjones

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#513363 29-Aug-2011 11:19

freitasm:
macjones:The 3gb plan (3,221,225,472 bytes) on Vodafone means.....

Also, it can't be "20 million free txt's (sic) per month!" if you are paying for the data...

I KNEW some geek would have me up on the FREE ! LOL.....

OK.....

$40 / 314,572 = 0.00012 per "txt"

or 78 texts per cent ($0.01) .....

Still pretty cheap....

And yep, a smartphone without come sort of data plan is a bad idea, I'm sure just sitting on your desk it'll use a few kb per day for NTP, DNS etc.

(My wife uses her iPhone 4 on 2degrees prepay $100mb = $10, she usually uses maybe 50-60mb, the $10 auto renews so she does not need to remember to top it up...... if it looks like a plan and smells like a plan is it still prepay ?)

dclegg

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#513364 29-Aug-2011 11:22

freitasm:

It works well if everyone has a data plan. But we know there are some people (foolishly) on prepay using those devices...

Why foolishly? I'm on prepay, because I'm yet to meet a plan that has a low enough monthly rate to match what I spend on pre-pay credit. $20 will usually last me 2 to 3 months.

I SMS a lot, and while I am mindful of usage, I do use 3G data occasionally. My iPhone is also heavily used as a pocket computer, where I take advantage of our Wifi network to use many of its features without incurring any prepay phone costs.

So yes, any increase of 3G data usage simply by using my phone in the same manner as before will not be welcomed by me. But I'll reserve judgement on iMessage until I see what impact it has on the data packs I routinely purchase. I purchase the minimum one available to me, and often don't use up all the allowance before it expires. Also, a lot of TXTing I do is from home, so using internet data for sending messages may actually save me, by replacing SMS costs with free messaging.

macjones

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#513368 29-Aug-2011 11:29

dclegg:
freitasm:

It works well if everyone has a data plan. But we know there are some people (foolishly) on prepay using those devices...

Why foolishly? I'm on prepay, because I'm yet to meet a plan that has a low enough monthly rate to match what I spend on pre-pay credit. $20 will usually last me 2 to 3 months.

I SMS a lot, and while I am mindful of usage, I do use 3G data occasionally. My iPhone is also heavily used as a pocket computer, where I take advantage of our Wifi network to use many of its features without incurring any prepay phone costs.

So yes, any increase of 3G data usage simply by using my phone in the same manner as before will not be welcomed by me. But I'll reserve judgement on iMessage until I see what impact it has on the data packs I routinely purchase. I purchase the minimum one available to me, and often don't use up all the allowance before it expires. Also, a lot of TXTing I do is from home, so using internet data for sending messages may actually save me, by replacing SMS costs with free messaging.

I guess by PLAN you could call it BUNDLE.....

dclegg, You have a 2 degrees bundle of 50mb which will suit LOTS of smart phone users and is super well priced $6.

However, people without bundles on prepay like $1 per day on Voda or $0.50 per mb on 2 degrees, will notice their balance slipping away as data is used...... often to the tune of $20-$30 per month or more.... so they would be better off with a prepay data bundle (or a plan) (or WIFI at home and work !)

dclegg

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#513372 29-Aug-2011 11:35

macjones:I guess by PLAN you could call it BUNDLE.....

dclegg, You have a 2 degrees bundle of 50mb which will suit LOTS of smart phone users and is super well priced $6.

However, people without bundles on prepay like $1 per day on Voda or $0.50 per mb on 2 degrees, will notice their balance slipping away as data is used...... often to the tune of $20-$30 per month or more.... so they would be better off with a prepay data bundle (or a plan) (or WIFI at home and work !)

I get your point, but I'm not sure I agree. It is possible to upgrade to a smartphone and still get many benefits from it without even having to touch 3G data. In fact, I'm considering purchasing my daughter an Android phone for her birthday and disabling 3G data so she doesn't burn up her credit by surfing Facebook when she's out and about. No doubt she will still surf Facebook on it at home though.

Saying that its foolish to have a smartphone and not be on some kind of plan, or have access to some sort of data pack, is a blanket statement that doesn't cover all use cases. And those users who are aware of the potential costliness of using 3G data will always be mindful of encroaching feature sets that may be forcing 3G data usage onto them. It will be interesting to see if this feature if iMessage can be disabled altogether, especially if the phone has to check the Apple servers to see what message protocol to use each time you add a recipient to a message.

SaltyNZ

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#513373 29-Aug-2011 11:38

freitasm: Those people on a low plan will complain again on "something, I don't know what, keeps using my allowance" or "something is using my casual data rate" and so on.

More importantly, another thing I can't control that I will nevertheless get complaints about when it's delayed and/or doesn't work. :-)

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#513374 29-Aug-2011 11:40

dclegg:
freitasm:

It works well if everyone has a data plan. But we know there are some people (foolishly) on prepay using those devices...

Why foolishly? I'm on prepay, because I'm yet to meet a plan that has a low enough monthly rate to match what I spend on pre-pay credit. $20 will usually last me 2 to 3 months.

Ok, I should have extended it and made it "people (foolishly) on prepay using those devices on a casual mobile data rate..."

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dclegg

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#513375 29-Aug-2011 11:42

freitasm:

Ok, I should have extended it and made it "people (foolishly) on prepay using those devices on a casual mobile data rate..."

That I can agree with. Thats the problem with posting on forums where geeks like to hang out. We're a finicky, argumentative bunch :-)

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#513376 29-Aug-2011 11:42

dclegg: I get your point, but I'm not sure I agree. It is possible to upgrade to a smartphone and still get many benefits from it without even having to touch 3G data.

Yes, that's correct. Providing YOU are managing the device and block mobile data. Which a lot of non-tech people won't do.

Where are talking John "on the street" Doe here...

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#513377 29-Aug-2011 11:44

dclegg: Thats the problem with posting on forums where geeks like to hang out. We're a finicky, argumentative bunch :-)

This isn't an argument, it's just contradiction!

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